Nanu, who is suddenly so aggressive? “I want to get back where he is,” said Lewis Hamilton, pointing his right index finger at whoever was sitting to his left, in the middle, in the winner’s seat. After the Spanish Grand Prix, this honor was once again reserved for Max Verstappen. The world champion smiled politely at the record champion’s challenge.
Verstappen had won the race on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya too safely, the Dutchman leads the championship too well to be alarmed that Mercedes smells morning air. But above all Lewis Hamilton has apparently rediscovered the self-image of a seven-time world champion and 103-time Grand Prix winner. Recently, he often seemed like a discouraged, introverted follower.
No, Verstappen does not need to worry about his place in the middle. But self-confidence is back in the silvers, Hamilton and stable mate George Russell raced to second and third place in Catalonia, were closer to Red Bull than they have been for a long time and initially took second place in the manufacturers’ championship. Ferrari and Aston Martin, the direct competitors, were clearly beaten. An awakening experience for the former permanent winner? “It was the best car,” said an euphoric Lewis Hamilton, “that I’ve driven in the past year and a half.”
Russell, who had raced forward from twelfth place after a botched qualification and high-speed collision with Hamilton, agreed. Race director Toto Wolff also wanted to enjoy the moment and not throw water in the champagne, although he classified: “We’re much closer to Red Bull, but still a long way from where we want to be.”
The truth is that Mercedes are still three to four tenths of a second short of Max Verstappen. The Mercedes W14, known to Toto Wolff, is still full of surprises. “At the moment,” admitted the Austrian, “it’s a bit like ‘Jugend forscht’.” Nevertheless, at Mercedes they were collectively relieved to be “best of the rest” at least for the moment, the second force behind Red Bull Hamilton hopefully recalled the bon mot that a racing car that is fast in Barcelona is fast everywhere. “We will be strong in the next races,” he greeted the competition.
Busy weeks lie behind the engineers and designers at Mercedes. In order to get up to speed, the face of the W14 was completely redesigned, the front wheel suspension changed, and the aerodynamic concept, which had almost no side boxes, was abandoned. “We made courageous decisions,” summed up Toto Wolff. That seems to be worth it.
Schumacher beats the night around the ears
Initially, there was little to suggest a successful Barcelona weekend for the Silvers. During the first training drives, the racer was hard to control: “Friday was a cramp, the car was difficult to drive, unpredictable,” reveals chief driver Hamilton. The fact that qualifying got better the next day was again thanks to Mick Schumacher. The reserve driver spent the night at the headquarters in Brackley, England, doing virtual laps in the simulator until two in the morning and poring over data with the engineers.
“Best of the rest”: Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton (left) and George Russell
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Image: AFP
At 7 a.m. in Barcelona he was on the mat, tired on his face. Schumacher had recently put in such a night shift in Monaco. “Mick and the team did a valuable job in the simulator, which put us on the right track for the set-up,” said Hamilton. Schumacher, who has been employed by Mercedes since this year, will now be able to drive the W14 in real life for the first time: this Wednesday he will be testing tires on the Montmeló track.
Mercedes also benefited from the comparatively cool temperatures of around 23 degrees Celsius in Spain: “Not too fresh, not too warm, just perfect,” said Toto Wolff, immediately reminding us that things could be completely different once the thermometer went up shows ten degrees more. He did not rule out further setbacks. But the direction, according to the message from Mercedes, is correct.
Can the Silvers take on Max Verstappen later this season? “I don’t think so,” Hamilton said. “We’re improving and getting closer, but they’re improving too.” Then he pricked his ears: “I’m focused on making sure we can challenge Red Bull next year from day one.” That was an listener, after all Hamilton’s sporting situation as unclear.
The 38-year-old’s contract ends after this season, and the industry is eagerly speculating about how things will continue for him. Rumor has it that Ferrari has made an indecent offer. “I haven’t signed anything yet,” Hamilton said, and at the same time revealed that he had an important appointment with his boss: “I’ll meet Toto on Monday, hopefully we’ll get something done.” Wolff made a similar statement: “We just have to agree sit down with a cup of coffee and the job will be done in half an hour.”
Nothing was initially known about the outcome of the meeting. In view of the recent hopeless sporting situation with Mercedes, the voices that want to impute an early end to the record world champion’s career have increased. That seems a long way off for the time being. It may be a while before Hamilton can celebrate his 104th Grand Prix triumph and he can sit in the middle again after the race. But the driving pleasure it takes to be successful is unmistakably back.
